Rick's new buddy

[bashfulshifter]

Characters: A blonde man, his chipped worker unit, and YOU
Setting: On December 12th, various locations and times--Floor 15, Floors 25 through 27, the stairwell at various points from Floor 27 to 39, ending on Floor 39.
Format: Whatever works!
Summary: Rick has a new friend following him! He names his friend, then makes him more appropriate winter clothing before showing him around his usual haunts and making him feel welcome. Also, physical training continues!
Warnings: Nope nope nope

Early Afternoon - Floor 15 (Workshop) - Scarves for Tristan

[Rick feels bad for being so distant. He's pretty sure his retrieval unit with the chipped collar has been giving him a wide berth on purpose--after going to such lengths to avoid him the first couple of weeks, it's no wonder the poor fellow decided he needed some room. Now that Rick's learned of the chipped units' helpful intent, however, he's done his best to seem welcoming, hopefully reestablish some trust so he can get to know the guy--so he can apologize properly. It's still kind of strange, knowing that he's being stalked. It takes time for Rick to finally open up.]

[When he does, he thinks he has a way to make things right.]

[Rick waits patiently in the Workshop for his retrieval unit to stop wandering around the doorway and enter. He already has something prepared: a long, fuzzy scarf, simple and rather burdensome but very warm, offered sheepishly at the approaching figure.]

...S-S-Sorry. I, uh... [The retrieval unit stares blankly at the gift and Rick rapidly grows more unsettled.] --I-I-I j-just thought--uh--w-w-well it's g-getting c-cold and--w-well I d-d-don't e-even know if y-you g-g-get c-cold, but--a-ah--

[The follower's expression doesn't change but, silent and slow, he accepts the scarf. Rick is legitimately stunned at the reaction; Lancer had said that they were probably trying to stay incognito, so he expected...well, no reaction at all. This is a pleasant surprise!]

...I-I'm, ah...g-glad you l-like it. [He anxiously shuffles his feet.] Um...s-s-sorry for...a-avoiding you s-s-so m-much. I d-didn't know...I-I-I h-heard f-from the o-others that, uh... [Okay, being stared at again, Rick knows he's probably laughing on the inside and is very embarrassed about this.] ...r-right. W-Well, um...I'm R-Rick. I...w-well I g-g-guess you knew th--that a-a-already, but--i-it's n-nice to m-meet you. W-What...?

[Silence.]

...Y-You d-d-don't h-have a name? [Still nothing. Rick takes this as an affirmative and scratches his chin.] Oh. D-Do you m-mind if I...?

[Well he's obviously keeping the charade up, but he has to call him something. Names, though...what name does he look like? Nothing immediately comes to mind; he's tall, medium build, has a rather plain but pleasantly smooth facial structure, dark eyes that seem in a perpetual state of tranquil calm. His head of trimmed, jet-black hair reminds Rick a bit of Codi's cat, Ignatius, but naming a person in memory of a pet seems kind of insulting.]

[Other names...calm, quiet, not too many syllables...ah!]

...T-Tristan? [Yes, he responds to that. Great!] O-Okay...Tristan. I'm...g-glad I c-can g-g-get to know you.

[The cuteness of course does not end there, as Rick realizes that a scarf is not nearly sufficient to keep Tristan warm, so he keeps the fellow around for a few more hours while he takes measurements and works on a myriad of cloaks, coats, and sweaters for him.]

Late Afternoon into Evening - Other floors mentioned - Tour and Running

[If Tristan is going to follow him around all over the place, he might as well know what it is Rick usually does around here. Therefore the blonde man takes it upon himself to drag the retrieval unit from the chilly Meadow--which is pretty, but unless he runs into someone else to play in the snow with he won't stay long--to the Morgue, which he stops to clean, to the Laboratory, where he takes a solid hour to scrub down and organize and of course catch up with anyone he meets. It's important that his friends and coworkers know who Tristan is, too!]

[From there it's training time. He's actually had to fashion himself a belt for the pants he arrived with, and though that might not show under his heavy winter clothing, the fact that he manages to jog up the twelve flights of stairs from the Lab to the Gym without collapsing should be a testament to his conditioning over the past month. Even more impressive is the fact that he's willing to do more after some rest, walking laps and even considering poking at the training dummies with some wooden practice swords lying around. Not that he has any idea what to do with them...it might be worth giving him some help.]

Comments

[Tour]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[The morgue was of course the place Veronica usually spent her time in. So it's probably no surprise to see her here scrubbing away as usual.

When she hears him enter, Veronica looks up and immediately freezes.]

R-rick! B-behind you!

[bashfulshifter]

[Veronica's alarm is contagious and immediately puts the blonde man on edge. He spins on his heel as directed.]

--Huh? W-What--? [But...there's nothing behind him! Only Tristan, bundled in various winter wear, who has silently taken up position on his left.] --W-What's w-w-wrong?

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[She points a finger at the unit behind him.

Dammit Rick, why aren't you running or something?]

T-there's one of those things following you!

[Stepping carefully towards him, she pulled a sword from her sleeve.] D-don't w-worry, I'll t-take care of it.

[bashfulshifter]

[Oh right, Tristan! Well that's easy enough to explain, he just has to--]

[--suddenly, Veronica pulls a sword! On instinct Rick steps between them, hands held defensively in front despite rapidly starting to panic.]

--W-W-Wait! N-No, he's--a-a-ah-- [How to explain as quickly as possible?! Rick frantically gestures at his neck.] --C-Collar! Um--ch--!

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Veronica freezes when Rick steps between them.

Srs Rick. Wat r u doing.]

He... h-he's w-what? W-what collar?

[bashfulshifter]

[Well at least she's not trying to actively kill him, which is certainly an improvement. Rick fumbles for a bit longer before finally turning to Tristan--completely unfazed through all of this--unwrapping his scarf to expose the chipped collar underneath.]

--The--uh--c-c-collar! This o-one. He's g-good.

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[eyebrows creased in confusion, Veronica inches closer to the unit to get a look. She eyed the chipped collar.]

So.... he's n-not g-going to.... attack, or a-anything?

[bashfulshifter]

I, uh...I d-d-don't think so. [He carefully replaces the scarf and pats it in place.] I m-mean--e-e-everyone e-else s-said they w-were o-okay. At the, um...the m-meeting.

[stitchedupbodyguard]

Meeting....

[She looked at Rick now, though she glanced every so often at the unit.]

So... is t-this t-the one that w-was... following you?

[bashfulshifter]

[He nods and blushes, thoroughly embarrassed.] ...Y-Yeah. I-It w-w-was...w-well I d-d-didn't know, th--then. I, ah...I th--think he u-un--understands...?

[Rick passes a quick, apologetic look at Tristan, who stares back but otherwise says nothing. That's a good sign, right? Probably.]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[Slowly, her swords are lowered. Now that the awkwardness has settled in, Veronica blushes slightly, looking at the unit more confusedly than angrily.]

So... he's n-not going t-to attack us?

[bashfulshifter]

[On impulse, Rick shakes his head. The truth is, he doesn't actually know--and probably, if Veronica had attacked him, he would have tried to defend himself, or maintain the illusion of being a typical retrieval unit. But he doesn't want to think about that too much.]

...H-He w-w-won't, no. I...I-I t-trust him.

[stitchedupbodyguard]

[She looked intently at Rick, looking for any kind of doubt or possible mind control-ness on his face. Luckily, there was no sign of the latter, but she couldn't help but think she saw the former.

Still, she had to believe him. If he trusted it, she did to. Sort of.]

Well... o-okay. I b-believe you.

[myblueskies]

[Romeo is also in the gymnasium, practicing with his knife. He tried to practice every day and was slowly getting better, except for the fact he had to relearn where his arms and legs were every week, he was growing fast. The cloak Enoch had given him was folded neatly with his hat and the scarf Tohko had given him. But he was moving fast enough to not be cold even in his very threadbare clothes.

He saw Rick and grinned at him, waving though he looked warily at the figure following him.] Hello sir! How are you?

[bashfulshifter]

[Now there's a face he hasn't seen in a while! Looking noticeably taller, too--and like he could use some new clothes that fit better. It's somewhat alarming to see a kid his age running around with a knife, but then again...it's the Tower. He should be relieved that Romeo is able to defend himself, at least a little bit.]

[Rick waves back, cheery and completely oblivious to the anxious glance passed at his follower. Now that he's accepted his fate, Tristan is so quiet that he often forgets the fellow is there at all!]

--H-Hello, R-Romeo! I'm...a l-little t-t-tired. [So pulling over to talk is a welcome break.] Good, th--though. H-How are you?

[myblueskies]

[New clothes and some shoes but Romeo doesn't seem phased at all.] You were running really fast! Are you training?

I'm good! [He's just glad to be back, around people]

[bashfulshifter]

...G-Glad you...th--think s-s-so! [Huff puff. Not going to be doing much more of that any time soon, that's for sure. Rick nods and leans on his knees.] ...Y-You, ah...w-w-working on...a-a-anything f-fun?

[myblueskies]

I'm just training as well, sir! I got to get stronger to help everyone!

[bashfulshifter]

G-Good! [...he says to the child with a dagger. Rick qualifies: ] --J-Just m-make sure to be c-careful, okay?

[myblueskies]

I will be! I'm always careful, I haven't died in ages! [He's quite proud of that fact]

[bashfulshifter]

[The smile on Rick's face falters almost imperceptibly as his heart gives a painful kick. But he's died before...another child, fallen victim to the Tower. Dwelling on it is too horrible to bear.]

[So he doesn't.]

...A-Alright, as l-long as you p-promise. [SUBJECT CHANGE] --A-Are you t-t-training w-with anyone?

[myblueskies]

I do! [Promises are important] Not today, I sometimes train with Ken though, do you know him, sir?

[bashfulshifter]

[He shakes his head.] ...L-Looks like he d-d-does a g-good j-job, though.

[myblueskies]

He does! He's a great trainer!

[bashfulshifter]

I'm g-glad! [Rick chuckles lightly.] I m-might h-have to ask him t-to h-help me. I-I m-mean, if he's, uh...t-taking s-s-students.

[myblueskies]

He teaches a few people, I think he'd like to teach you too! [Ken would probably be proud to teach an adult]

[bashfulshifter]

[If only Rick knew what he's agreeing to right now. Ah well--Ken sounds competent enough!]

W-Well--i-if he w-w-wants to, I w-w-wouldn't m-mind! I'd be h-happy to l-learn from him.

[myblueskies]

I'll ask him then!

laboratory

[fionnuisce]

What the everloving shit is that doing here.

[The main drawback of having been incredibly busy with Sephiroth and the collar fluid research was that Waver was regrettably a bit behind on overall goings-on in the Tower at large. So seeing a retrieval unit in the laboratory caused the lecturer to damn near jump out of his skin.

[bashfulshifter]

[Oops.]

W-What--? [He turns back and sees Tristan idling several feet behind him, hands in the pocket of his extremely fluffy sweater.] --O-Oh. Uh. N-No, he's--h-he's f-f-fine, he's--um--

[There's a scarf covering up Tristan's collar, so Rick gestures at his own, tapping oddly at the sides and back.]

[fionnuisce]

... [At the very least, Waver seemed to calm down somewhat. Rick seemed to have a reasonable amount of common sense, so if he wasn't worried it was unlikely to be any matter of pressing concern.]

When the hell did this- [he waved a hand vaguely in Tristan's direction] -start, exactly?

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick is pleased that Tristan has been mostly accepted! He breathes a sigh of relief and gives the retrieval unit (stalwart as ever) a happy pat on the back before he gets to cleaning. Completely normal day, right?]

Ah...a c-couple w-w-weeks ago, I--I think. [Ponder ponder] ...J-Just after the c-c-carnival. A, uh...a l-lot of p-p-people h-have one, n-now.

[fionnuisce]

Really? [Frowning, Waver raised a hand to his head before quickly withdrawing it again, remembering his sunglasses were strangely absent.] Damn, I must have been distracted.

[bashfulshifter]

[Well he certainly looks distracted. Rick blinks with some confusion.]

...C-Collar f-f-fluid?

[fionnuisce]

Well...yes, but I'm afraid I've just been a little below optimum condition myself. It's not important.

[bashfulshifter]

[Not important? Waver Velvet, you silly man, you should have never said anything in the first place. Rick immediately drops what he's doing and gives the lecturer his full attention.]

...W-What is...w-w-what's w-wrong?

[fionnuisce]

What--n-nothing, it's fine.

[Which was the default answer, of course. Waver wasn't used to genuine concern from people that weren't Diarmuid.]

[bashfulshifter]

[Rick is, of course, not convinced.]

I-Is it...D-Diarmuid?

[Research and relationships: as far as Rick can tell, Waver's two greatest worries.]

[fionnuisce]

...Forget it, alright? I'm just..overworking myself or something.

[bashfulshifter]

[He does not forget it.]

...M-Maybe you sh--should t-take a b-break, then.